Gyeongbuk Office of Education Provides Additional 50 Million KRW in Air Conditioning Funds to 917 Schools

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Jong-sik) announced on July 10 that it is providing additional funding for air conditioning to all schools in the Gyeongbuk region in order to protect the health of students and staff and to create a safer and more comfortable educational environment amid the ongoing heatwave.

As the number of extremely hot days has been increasing every year due to recent climate change, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education has secured a total budget of 46.5 billion KRW for heating and cooling expenses to proactively respond to this summer's unprecedented high temperatures. This support averages about 50 million KRW per school, covering 917 institutions in the province, including kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as special schools.

Yeongcheon Yeongan Middle School Classroom

This measure goes beyond simply providing air conditioning funds; it has been implemented as a safety initiative to protect students' right to learn and to ensure a safe working environment for staff during the heatwave.

In particular, with energy costs rising sharply in recent times, many schools have faced difficulties operating air conditioning units due to the burden of electricity bills. The strengthened financial support aims to ensure that schools can fully utilize cooling equipment.

In addition to air conditioning support, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education is also implementing a variety of safety measures to address summer climate conditions, such as installing sunshades, distributing air coolers and water dispensers, and inspecting school routes. The office plans to further strengthen customized support for schools in response to climate and environmental changes in the future.

Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of Gyeongbuk Office of Education, stated, "We will mobilize every possible resource to support schools on the ground so that our children can learn and grow healthily without being worn out by the heat," adding, "We will make it our top priority to actively improve classroom environments so that educational activities are not hindered by the heatwave and to guarantee the safety of students in their school life."